The present invention concerns wall structures used with trampolines to protect trampoline users, and to provide new uses for trampolines. (The same principles can similarly be adapted to provide fencing around above-ground pools, thereby keeping pool toys within the pool, and providing structural support for recreational accessories.)
In the past, trampolines have been used for a variety of athletic and recreational purposes. However, injuries have sometimes resulted when a person jumping on a trampoline would land too near the boundary of the rebounding surface and strike the trampoline frame or fall from the trampoline to the ground. An article in the Mar. 3, 1998, New York Times reports that trampoline-related emergency room hospitalizations of children doubled between 1990 and 1995 (to nearly 60,000), and that the rate of injuries shows no sign of abating. Some in the medical community have called for a ban on the sale of home trampolines. While stopping short of a ban, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission has called for safety improvements to home trampolines.
One approach to reducing such injuries has been to form a wall around the perimeter of a trampoline bed so that when a jumper lands too near the edge, the wall prevents the jumper from falling off. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,132 and 3,501,141. However, these devices suffer from various drawbacks, in some cases introducing their own safety concerns. For example, the '132 patent employs a rigid framework around the trampoline to support net fencing. If a jumper collides with one of the rigid uprights, the support frame provides little resilience and thus poses its own risk of injury.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, this and other drawbacks of the prior art are overcome, and new features are provided.
One novel aspect of the preferred embodiment is the provision of a safety fence support employing poles whose tops are linked by a resilient, rather than a rigid, member. Such an arrangement permits constrained movement of each pole, better absorbing impact to or near the pole. Moreover, the resilient linking of poles allows a neighborhood of plural poles (commonly all of the poles) to absorb energy from a jumper's impact anywhere against the safety fence. The subsequent release of this energy from the flexed poles helps propel the jumper back onto the trampoline surface. (A cushioning foam sheath can be provided around each of the uprights to enhance the foregoing effects.)
Another novel aspect of the preferred embodiment is the use of a controllable tensioning member on the member(s) linking the pole tops. One embodiment employs nylon webbing for the resilient linking member. A buckle joins two ends of the webbing and permits the webbing's length—and thus tension—to be varied. By varying this tension, the dynamic characteristics of the safety fence can be tailored as desired.
Another novel aspect of the preferred embodiment is the fastening of fence netting material to the support structure by continuous lengths of elastic cording. This arrangement is simple and inexpensive to implement, while enhancing the flexible response of the fence. In a particular embodiment, the elastic cording is threaded in and out of openings in fence netting. This embodiment further includes a flexible member (e.g. nylon webbing) helically wrapped around an adjacent upright support member to couple the cord thereto at plural intermediate points therealong.
Another novel aspect of the preferred embodiment is various game accessories that are used in conjunction with the trampoline and are mounted using some part of the safety fence for support.
The foregoing aspects, and others described below, are equally applicable to embodiments in which the safety fence is provided as an integral component of the trampoline, and also when it is provided as an add-on accessory. By providing the safety fence as an integral part of the trampoline structure, the cost, complexity, and weight of the combined structure can be reduced.
Another novel aspect of the preferred embodiment is a mounting arrangement that permits a fence readily to be attached to trampolines of different designs.
Like fences for trampolines, fences for above-ground pools are also known, as illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,126. But these, too, suffer from various drawbacks, including complexity, difficulty of installation, and expense. Embodiments of the present invention overcome these drawbacks as well.
The foregoing features and advantages will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.